Details

The story of the puzzle that started the craze of 1880 and how America's greatest puzzle designer, Sam Loyd, fooled everyone for 115 years!

Written by Jerry Slocum and Dic Sonneveld. Published by The Slocum Puzzle Foundation. ISBN 1 890980 15 3 First published in 2006 144 full colour glossy pages. Hard cover.

From the Foreword by Will Shortz: " In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sam Loyd, the great American puzzle genius, freely used others' puzzles without credit, passing them off as his own." .... "Both claims, though, were repeated so often and so widely that they were often accepted, and this 'information' can still be found in standard references today." .... "It's a wonderful story, which Jerry Slocum and Dic Sonneveld reveal in this surprising, entertaining, and painstakingly researched book, is completely untrue." .... "They refute Loyd's claim to the puzzle's invention. Then identify the real inventor, track the puzzle's long, twisted route to market, and explain why the inventor's name has essentially remained a secret for 125 years" .... The chapters in the book cover: The Fifteen Puzzle craze. Literature on the History and Solutions 1880-1900. Who invented the fifteen puzzle? Did Sam Loyd invent the fifteen puzzle? Did a deaf mute in Hartford invent the fifteen puzzle? Did a New York postmaster invent the fifteen puzzle? Were solvers of the fifteen puzzle driven insane? The lasting impact of the fifteen puzzle craze